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Distributing "indecent" images of a former partner could earn you Jail time

The initiative to criminalize this type of distribution is ready for it's final approval

SanDiegoRed Services.

by Elizabeth Rosales/Daniel Aguilar

September 13 2013

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Next time you think about getting “revenge” on a former lover, you might need to think twice, given that distributing “compromising” photos or material involving someone you were involved with, could land you in jail with a hefty fine on the side.

Despite so many warnings and PSA ads, many people continue to take pictures or video of themselves in “erotic” situations, and more often than not this material usually ends up on the internet, and once it's uploaded, you cannot take it down, no matter how hard you try.

Most of the times these videos or images are quite personal, and are usually taken with someone you trust, or are in a relationship with, however, being that human relationships are complicated in nature, they can end quite abruptly, leaving people little time or opportunity to get a hold of such compromising images, and many scorned lovers tend to upload them to the internet in order to get some kind of revenge with little repercussions, which sadly, more often than not, the person in the images has their reputation damaged, and the person who uploaded remains relatively unscathed.

The state of California is aware of this, and in order to work around the permanent nature of online material, they have opted for penalizing the person who uploaded the material, in an attempt to provide some damage control when it comes to these situations.

Following in the footsteps taken by the State of New Jersey, California will become the second state that will penalize those who have uploaded “indecent” images of their former lovers. This measure was approved unanimously by Senate last month and is currently under revision before being sent to governor Jerry Brown for approval.

Once approved, whoever commits this crime will be fined with $1000 dollars and may face up to 6 months jail time. The law indicates that regardless if the images were taken with full consent of the party affected, that was at a certain time period, and that the images are usually uploaded with the intent of humiliating and damaging the other person, which legally represents Defamation of character.

“It is reprehensible that people decide to take 'vengeance' on their former lovers by publishing these images, which they know full well are meant to be private” Senator Anthony Cannela, who proposed this measure, explained last June. “Many lives have been ruined because of the actions of someone they thought they could trust”.